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Sydney, Nova Scotia (Canada)

Former Arms

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Former Arms

image located by Dave Fowler, 27 December 2025

Sydney (now part of Cape Breton Regional Municipality) has arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority (https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/3773).

Blazon
Barry wavy Azure and Argent a Cape Breton sloop Gules, a chief paly each pallet per bend Gules and Or;
Symbolism (hypothesized):
The Cape Breton sloop is taken from the Great Seal of the Colony of Cape Breton (1784-1820) and honours the city’s position at the time as the colony’s capital. The wavy bands likely allude to the coastal location of the city.

Crest
Blazon
Rays of the sun Or issuant from a mural crown Argent masoned Sable charged with a saltire Azure surmounted by a maple leaf Gules;
Symbolism (hypothesized):
The mural crown is a heraldic symbol denoting a municipality. The cross references the arms of Nova Scotia, while the maple leaf is a reference to Canada.

Motto
Blazon
DROIT ET AVANT;
Symbolism: "Upright and forward."

Supporters
Blazon
Dexter a steel worker of the 20th century holding a steel worker's hammer head downwards, sinister a fisherman habited in oilskins holding a codfish haurient, both standing on a grassy mount set with outcroppings of coal proper;
Symbolism
The steel worker alludes to the city’s pre-eminence in the early 20th century as one of the largest steel mills in the world. The fisherman evokes the city’s maritime history. The coal outcroppings represent the coal mining industry for which the city was also known in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Source: https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/3773

Dave Fowler, 27 December 2025